Utah trying to jump the 2016 primary line

Call it an instance of caucus envy. The Utah House has already passed a bill which would hold an online primary prior to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary in 2016. So far, the bill has stalled in the Utah Senate.

There’s still a push for Utah to play a bigger role in the 2016 presidential primary race, even though a bill to make the state’s election the first in the nation stalled in the Legislature.

“By going first, I believe that Utah could finally show what all of us already know, that the emperors — Iowa and New Hampshire — have no clothes,” said Rep. Jon Cox, R-Ephraim, the sponsor of HB410.

The bill, which passed the House but failed to get a vote in the Senate before the session ended, would have put an online Utah election ahead of Iowa’s caucuses and New Hampshire’s primary, traditionally the initial contests for White House contenders.

Cox said no state should always be first in line, but until the national parties put an end to the practice, it will take a state like Utah going rogue to “finally allow us to discuss meaningful reform in the presidential nominating process.”

Every state has been itching in recent years to take a more prominent role in these early primary days. It has caused significant disruption in the process as witnessed in 2008 when the Iowa caucuses took place on January 3rd, barely 72 hours into the new year.

Nate Ashworth is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for almost a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016.

Primary fights only give the “other” party ammo – all primaries should be just two weeks before the NC’s and selection. Talk about their game plan and what they’ll do in office – not the crap on their fellow candidates.